Tough Little Boys
by Icepen
Summary: Arthur loved his little girl. He knew that for a fact. What he didn't know, however, was exactly how deep that bond ran. Song by Gary Allen.


_A/N: So I wrote this a while back, and now my friends are pressuring me into posting this claiming that it's "cute." (I also forgot that I wrote this and just recently found this on my laptop.) I personally think it's mediocre at best, so you can see why I'm a bit reluctant to post it, but we'll see what you guys think! Also for those of you reading _Because of Fate, _please don't kill me for the late updates! I know I said I'd update every Friday, but I have been updating at sporadic intervals because I'm lazy, I have school, a concert for a non-school related orchestra, and a dance performance coming up, so I'm a tad busy(And very lazy). But if you see me slacking off on my stories, please just slap me ok? I won't take offence. Sorry to those of you who actually bothered to read this monstrosity of an Author's note, here is the actual story now._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Gary Allen, but you'll be the first to know when I do, OK?_

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**Well I never once  
Backed down from a punch  
I'd take it square on the chin  
I found out fast  
A bully's just that  
You've got to stand up to him  
So I didn't cry when I got a black eye  
As bad as it hurt, I just grinned**

Arthur Weasley was convinced that he never cried. He had gone through his years at Hogwarts without shedding so much as a single tear. _"So, what if the Slytherins teased him a little?"_ He had thought. They were just looking to pick a fight, and Arthur knew that he could take them, so he didn't worry.

Through the First Wizarding War, he struggled to keep his growing family safe, and happy. He managed the stress of working at the Ministry and fighting in the order without complaining; like a true Gryffindor. He played with his children and pacified his temperamental wife. He had kept a brave face through the dark times. Yes, Arthur Weasley was one tough nut.

**But when tough little boys grow up to be dads  
They turn into big babies again.**

But then, a strange change took over Arthur, just around the time Lord Voldemort met his demise. The change came in the form of a red-haired, brown eyed little girl.

Arthur didn't think much about it at first. He loved all seven of his children: from witty Bill, to bookish Percy, even the pranksters that were Fred and George, they were all special pieces of his heart. So when baby Ginny was born one hot August afternoon, he had assumed that she would be just like one of her brothers.

And she became a bit like each of them. She was clever like Bill, stubborn like Charlie, ambitious like Percy, hilarious like Fred and George, and loyal like Ron, and over all Ginny-ish. But what Arthur didn't expect was the impact Ginny would have on his life.

**Scared me to death  
When you took your first steps  
And I'd fall every time you fell down**

When Ginny was just learning to walk, he was not prepared for the panic that gripped him every time she stumbled. He had watched six children before her learn to walk, after all. But when Ginny tripped over the edge of a rug, or if her chubby little legs wanted a break from the strain that they were unused to, he would always be there to pick her up, and put her closer to where ever she wanted to be. He knew that he shouldn't help her so much, but he couldn't stop himself. He watched her cute little nose wrinkle in annoyance every time she fell over. Of course, she would promptly bounce back to her feet and try again and again, but he felt some kind of fatherly duty to protect his little girl from any kind of harm.

**Your first day of school, I cried like a fool  
And I followed your school bus to town**

When Ginny turned eleven and got her Hogwarts letter, her was just a little bit more reluctant to let her go than he had ever been with any of his sons. He knew what had happened there the past year and didn't want his little girl to face such dangers. But he took one look into her big brown eyes and knew he was toast. He couldn't deny her anything.

So come September first, he found himself driving her to King's Cross station in his flying car. He fought to keep a straight face as she hugged him and his mother good-bye for the next ten months. Ginny boarded the bus with Hermione Granger, one of Ron's best friends from school, and began her seven year journey to becoming a fully trained witch.

He had half a mind to run all the way to Scotland to make sure the Hogwarts express got her there safely. Instead, he settled for chasing it to the edge of the platform crying and waving all at the same time.

**Well I didn't cry, when Old Yeller died  
At least not in front of my friends  
But when tough little boys grow up to be dads  
They turn into big babies again**

**Well I'm a grown man  
And as strong as I am  
sometimes it's hard to believe  
That one little girl, with little red curls  
Could totally terrify me  
**

Six years later, when the tensions of the Second Wizarding War were blown out into a final battle, he had told her to go home and hide with the rest of his children. But they stayed. He saw clearly the thing he had been dreading the most. All of his children were battle ready soldiers in a war to protect their best friends.

All throughout the night, he was terrified. Not for himself, oh no, never for himself. But for his little girl, who hadn't had as much practical battle experience. All night long, he saw quite clearly in his mind's eye, not a determined young woman with her eyes flashing and head up proudly as she was the last time he saw her, but a little five year old girl, playing dress up with her mother's pearl jewelry crumbling to the ground injured, or worse…killed.

But Ginny got away relatively unscathed, but the grief he felt for Fred was nearly unbearable when he saw Ginny sobbing over her big brother's lifeless body.

**If you were to ask  
My wife would just laugh  
She'd say "I know all about men"  
How when tough little boys grow up to be dads  
They turn into big babies again**

Arthur could not for the life of him name the effect Ginny had over him. It was the strangest urges to make sure her long-time crush and boyfriend would think twice before he came within fifty feet of his daughter when they were lounging in each other's arms on the couch, or when they were walking around the garden holding hands or even when they were just teasing each other like children.

He was pondering the riddle that was daughter when he came across the answer quite on accident.

Molly and Fleur were talking in the kitchen when he thought he might go get himself a snack.

"Molly, I am worried about Bill; 'e 'as been acting strangely around Victoire, 'e is not 'imself lately." Fleur sounded genuinely concerned, but Molly just laughed.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about, dear. He's just being an overprotective father. When little boys grow up and have children of their own, well, they tend to go a bit soft." Arthur could practically hear her wink at the end of the sentence.

Ah, but only Molly could explain it so truthfully in such few words.

**Well I know one day, I'll give you away  
And I'm gonna stand there and smile  
And when I get home, and I'm all alone  
Well, I'll sit in your room for a while**

Many years passed, and the little girl with the red hair and the too big shirt she stole from Bill when he left for Egypt was gone. In her place stood a beautiful woman with the kind brown eyes that has seen too much for her twenty-three years.

She stood at the top of the aisle wearing her mother's wedding dress, and a giddy, nervous smile. At the other end stood Harry Potter, wearing a tux and looking positively delirious with joy. The music started, and the two of them walked down the aisle, arm in arm, one smiling freely, and the other just struggling to keep a straight face.

Arthur walked with his daughter in some kind of trance. They pair finally reached the groom and Ginny stepped away so that she could hold hands with Harry. But she turned to him and gave him one last peck on the cheek right before she turned from Ginerva Molly Weasley, to Ginerva Molly Potter.

In the couple's radiance, nobody noticed as a few stray tears slid down Arthur's cheek, as he realized that the little girl with her mother's pearls was all grown up.

**Well I didn't cry when Old Yeller died  
At least not in front of my friends  
But when tough little boys grow up to be dads  
They turn into big babies again  
When tough little boys grow up to be dads  
They turn into big babies** **again**

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_A/N: So, what do you guys think? Remember to leave a review, because I have a little party every time I get one, so hey, remember to make my day and I just might update faster in my joyous state. Ya never know. Thanks for reading!_

_Love,_

_Ice_


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